Techniques and systems for storing and protecting signatures and images in electronic documents

ABSTRACT

Systems and techniques for storing an electronic document signed during an electronic document signing process. A computing device receives an electronic document that includes content within a content area, an image field positioned on the content area, and a cross sign field positioned partially on the image field and partially on the content area. The computing device receives an image to populate the image field and a signature to populate the cross sign field. The computing devices creates a first signature portion and a second signature portion by splitting the signature. The image is modified with the first signature portion and the content area is modified with the second signature portion. The computing device stores the electronic document by storing a file having separate elements, the separate elements including the modified content area and the modified image, without including the complete signature, unaltered content area, or unaltered image.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to systems and techniques thatfacilitate the signing and storing of electronic documents.

BACKGROUND

Electronic document signature services facilitate electronic documentsigning processes. For example, an individual in Atlanta, Ga. can createan electronic document and use an electronic document signature serviceto send the electronic document to an individual in San Jose, Calif. forsignature. The individual in San Jose receives the electronic documentand uses the electronic document signature service to complete and/orsign the document, for example, by adding text for the fields of theelectronic document and an electronic signature.

Existing signature systems expose elements of a signed electronicdocument to being retrieved and reused for inappropriate and undesirablepurposes. For example, electronic documents are commonly stored as PDFsby existing signature systems. The PDFs include separable elements,including the original electronic documents, text for the fields of theelectronic documents, images that are added as separate pages in thePDFs, and signatures. Existing systems maintain the elements of theelectronic documents as separate elements in the PDFs rather thanflattening the PDFs into single images. This separation is maintained topreserve the ability to search for the text of the fields of theelectronic document. However, as a result, the elements of the PDFs areexposed to being individually extracted and used for fraudulent or otherimproper purposes. An image of a person's face or the person's signaturecould be extracted and reused on another document. Existing systemscannot adequately protect against such extraction and reuse withoutflattening the text and potentially impeding the search-ability of thetext in the electronic documents.

SUMMARY

Systems and techniques are disclosed herein that facilitate storing anelectronic document signed during an electronic document signingprocess. In one embodiment of the invention, a computing device receivesan electronic document to be signed in the electronic document signingprocess. The electronic document includes content within a content area,an image field positioned on the content area, and a cross sign fieldpositioned partially on the image field and partially on a portion ofthe content area outside of the image field. The computing devicereceives an image to populate the image field and a signature topopulate the cross sign field, for example, from a signer completing andsigning the electronic document. The computing devices creates a firstsignature portion and a second signature portion by splitting thesignature. The image is modified with the first signature portion andthe content area is modified with the second signature portion. Therecan be two or more signature portions, determined by the intersection(s)of the signature with the image, that are used to modify the imageand/or content area. The computing device stores the electronic documentby storing a file with separate elements that include the modifiedcontent area, the modified image, and/or search text elements of theelectronic document. The complete signature, unaltered image, andunaltered content area are not stored in the file, in this example, toavoid exposing those elements to improper retrieval and use.

These illustrative features are mentioned not to limit or define thedisclosure, but to provide examples to aid understanding thereof.Additional embodiments are discussed in the Detailed Description, andfurther description is provided there.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

These and other features, embodiments, and advantages of the presentdisclosure are better understood when the following Detailed Descriptionis read with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an environment in which one or more techniques ofthe invention can be practiced.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a user interface in which an imageis separately attached to an electronic document during an electronicdocument signing process.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting an image appearing on a separatepage from the content area of an electronic document after beingseparately attached using the user interface of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary technique for authoringand cross signing an electronic document during an electronic documentsigning process.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary technique for authoringan electronic document with fields for cross signing during anelectronic document signing process.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram depicting a user interface for authoring anelectronic document for cross signing during an electronic documentsigning process.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram depicting the user interface of FIG. 6 inwhich an inline image field is positioned within the content area of theelectronic document.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram depicting the user interface of FIG. 7 inwhich a cross sign field is positioned partially over the inline imagefield within the content area of the electronic document.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram depicting the user interface of FIG. 6 inwhich a combined image and cross-sign field is positioned within thecontent area of the electronic document.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary technique for storingand protecting an image and a signature in electronic document.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram depicting a user interface for providing animage and signature to cross sign an electronic document during anelectronic document signing process.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram depicting the user interface of FIG. 11 inwhich an image is received and displayed in the content area of theelectronic document.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram depicting the user interface of FIG. 12 inwhich a signature is received and displayed partially over the image andpartially over a portion of the content area of the electronic document.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram depicting the modification of an image andcontent area of an electronic document based on cross signing.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram depicting an example hardware implementation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above, existing signature services expose elements ofelectronic documents to being extracted and reused inappropriately.Techniques disclosed herein address this problem by splitting thesignature and embedding a portion of the signature on a content area ofthe original electronic document and a portion of the signature onanother image of the document, such as a photo added by the signer. Theelectronic document is stored by storing these separate elements,including the modified content area and the modified image rather thanstoring the unaltered content area, the unaltered image, and/or thecomplete signature. Using these techniques, the text of the fields ofthe stored electronic document remain available for search while theimage and the signature are altered so that they cannot be extracted andreused. For example, there is no way to extract the complete signaturesince the two portions of the signature are split and embedded intoother objects. Similarly, if someone extracts the image, the image thatis extracted will be the modified image including a portion of thesignature. In this example, there is no way to extract the signature orthe unmodified image.

Techniques of the invention modify elements of an electronic documentbased on cross-signing of the document. In cross signing, the signer isprompted to provide a signature that will appear over both the originalelectronic document and an image that is positioned over or adjacent tothe electronic document. A portion of the signature, such as the lefthalf, is positioned on the original electronic document and anotherportion of the signature, such as the right half, is positioned on theimage. The signer signs the document by providing a signature, e.g., byidentifying an image of his signature or providing a scribble or otherinput to create a signature, authorizing use of his signature to signthe document, or typing his name for conversion into an image that willbe used as the signature. The signature that is provided is split intotwo or more portions and used to modify both the original electronicdocument and the image that underlie the signature. The completesignature need not be stored as part of the electronic document.Similarly, the unaltered original electronic document and the unalteredimage need not be stored as part of the electronic document. Thisprevents extraction and reuse of the signature, the unaltered originalelectronic document, and the unaltered image.

The techniques disclosed herein store the electronic document asseparate, searchable elements without flattening the electronic documentinto a single image. The electronic document includes separate elementssuch as the original electronic document altered with a portion of thesignature, the image altered with another portion of the signature, andsearchable text for the fields of the electronic document. In additionalto facilitating searching, individually storing these elements canfacilitate keeping track of the events that occur during the signingprocess. For example, if multiple signers will sign an electronicdocument, the text provided by the individual signers can remainseparate and associated with the respective individual signers whoprovided the text.

The techniques disclosed herein additionally or alternatively providefields that a sender positions within an electronic document. Thesefields are configured and positioned to allow a signer to cross sign thedocument. Specifically, an image field is positioned within the contentarea of the electronic document. For example, an image field can beadded in the upper right hand corner of a page of the document or in anyother location and size on the page. This allows an image to be includedin a position that is contiguous with other portions of the contentarea. Because the image can be positioned contiguous with other portionsof the content area, a signature can be positioned partially on theimage and partially on an adjacent portion of the content area.

A cross sign field is also used. A cross sign field is a signature fieldthat must be positioned partially on an image field and partially on aportion of the content area outside of the image field. The image fieldand cross sign field are thus used together to enable cross signing. Forexample, a sender may add an image field and a cross sign field to anelectronic document and then send the document for signature by asigner. The signer provides an image and a signature which populate theimage field and cross sign field. Because of the positioning of theimage field and the cross sign field that partially overlaps it, theresult is a signed electronic document with a signature positionedpartially on the image and partially on a portion of the electronicdocument outside the image. The sender can position, size, and/or rotatethe cross sign field in a desired location relative to the image fieldto achieve a particular cross sign appearance. This gives the sendercontrol over the appearance of the cross-signed signature that was notpossible in paper-based or electronic signature processes.

The image field and cross sign field can be positioned individually orby positioning a combined field. For example, a unified crosssignable-image-field can combine both an image field and a cross signfield that partially overlaps it. In one example, the sender positionsthe combined field in the content area of an electronic document. Thesender then selects a relative position for the cross sign field (e.g.,left edge top, bottom edge middle, etc.) that identifies the relativeposition of the cross sign field to the image field. This techniqueallows the sender to specify cross signing using only a single fieldrather than having to separately specify positions for an image fieldand a cross sign field.

Techniques of the invention support cross signing in electronicsignature processes based on user input and/or application programminginterface (API) calls. In the first case, a sender can provide input ona user interface to specify positions for an image field and cross signfield and select a command to send the document for signature. In thesecond case, a computing device runs a process to make API calls toautomatically author and send electronic documents for cross signing.The API calls identify the electronic document, the positions of theimage field and cross sign field, and the signer identity, and initiatesending of the electronic documents to the signer for signature.API-based implementations can be particularly useful in circumstances inwhich a business, organization, or government entity is sendingelectronic documents to many signers to cross sign. The API-basedimplementations are also useful when a signature workflow is part of alarger workflow. Through the use of an API, information extracted from aprevious step of a business process can be used to author and send thedocument automatically.

Terminology

As used herein, the phrase “computing device” refers to any electroniccomponent, machine, equipment, or system that can be instructed to carryout operations. Computing devices will typically, but not necessarily,include a processor that is communicatively coupled to a memory and thatexecutes computer-executable program code and/or accesses informationstored in memory or other storage. Examples of computing devicesinclude, but are not limited to, desktop computers, laptop computers,server computers, tablets, telephones, mobile telephones, televisions,portable data assistant (PDA), e-readers, portable game units, smartwatches, etc.

As used herein, the phrase “electronic document” refers to anyelectronic media content that represents information using text, images,or other items that can be displayed on a display of a computing device.Electronic documents can be stored as one or more files on acomputer-readable medium. Examples of electronic documents include, butare not limited to, word processing files that are created by enteringtext, images, and other items onto one or more pages, images ofhand-written papers that are created by scanning the hand writtenpapers, contracts, agreements, and other representations of content thatare signed by one or more parties for execution, verification,authorization, and any other purposes.

As used herein, the phrase “electronic document signing process” refersto a process that involves the authoring, sending, completing, singing,and/or storing of a signed electronic document. In one example, anelectronic document signing process involves a sender authoring anelectronic document by identifying a source electronic document andadding fields to be completed by a signer and sending the electronicdocument for signature by one or more signers. The exemplary processfurther involves the one or more signers completing the fields and/orsigning the electronic document. The exemplary process further involvesstoring the electronic document for later retrieval and use. Anelectronic document signing process can be facilitated by an electronicdocument signature service that provides an interface for the sender tosend the document for signature and/or for the one or more signers tosign the electronic document.

As used herein, the phrase “signature” refers to a depiction of a nameor other mark that a person adds to an electronic document as proof ofthe person's identity and intent or as proof of the identity and intentof another person or entity on behalf of whom the person is signing. Forexample, a person may sign an electronic document to execute thedocument, form a contract, verify the accuracy or truthfulness of thedocument, provide an authorization, and for various other purposes.Signatures can include names, other text, drawings, markings,fingerprints, stamps, and other depictions.

As used herein, the phrase “image” refers to a digital depiction ofperson, place, or thing. An image can be a photograph or a scan of adocument such as a license or other proof. An image can comprise pixelsthat define the appearance of the image. The pixels (i.e., pictureelements) of an image identify the appearance of particular portions ofthe image, for example, with each pixel identifying that a particulararea of the image will have a particular color. Images are commonlycaptured using cameras or scanners and stored in memory on a computingdevice using information that defines the colors of the pixels for theimage.

As used herein the phrase “separate elements” refers to images, text,and other content that can be individually identified and/or accessed inone or more files that store electronic documents. For example,techniques disclosed herein store an electronic document as a file thatincludes two or more separate elements rather than flattening theelectronic document into a single image. In one example, an electronicdocument includes separate elements such as an original electronicdocument altered with a portion of a signature, an image altered withanother portion of the signature, and searchable text elements for thefields of the electronic document.

As used herein, the phrase “cross sign” refers to positioning asignature on an electronic document such that the signature is partiallyon an added image and partially on the content area outside of the imagein the content area of the electronic document. For example, anelectronic document can have an image field added and a cross sign fieldadded. The cross sign field is added in a position partially on theimage field and partially on a portion of the content outside of theimage field. The electronic document can be cross signed by populatingthe image field with an image and populating the cross sign field with asignature. The document is cross signed because the signature appearspartially on the image and partially on the portion of the electronicdocument outside of the image field.

As used herein, the phrase “content area” refers to a page or otherdefined area in which content of an electronic document is included ordisplayed. For example, if a single-page document is scanned, thecontent area of the electronic document is a representation of thatpage. An image that is positioned “within” the content area ispositioned such that the image is positioned contiguous with the contentarea. This allows objects, such as signatures, to be positioned acrossborders between the image and the adjacent portions of the content area.A separate image or an image on a separate page is not within thecontent area. As another example, if a multiple-page electronic documentis scanned to form a multi-page electronic document, the content area ofthe electronic document is the content area of the multiple pages of theelectronic document. An image that is positioned within the content areaof the electronic document must be positioned within the content area ofa page of the electronic document.

As used herein, the phrases “in-line image” and “image within a contentarea” refer to an image being positioned within the content area of anelectronic document such that the image is positioned contiguous withthe content area of the electronic document. This allows objects, suchas signatures, to be positioned across borders between the image and theadjacent portions of the content area. This also allows an image to bein-context of any supporting text. A separate image or an image on aseparate page is not in-line with content in the content area of anelectronic document.

Exemplary Computing Environment

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an environment 100 in which one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure can be practiced. The environment100 includes users 101A-N, user devices 102A-N, an automatic formsending device 104, and an electronic signature server 110. Examples ofthe user devices 102A-N include, but are not limited to, a personalcomputer (PC), a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a laptop, mobilephone, a tablet, a processing unit, any combination of these devices, orany other suitable device having one or more processors. Each userdevice 102A-N includes at least one application (e.g., a stand-alone appor a webpage provided by a server on a device in a browser) supported bythe electronic signature server 110. For example, electronic signatureserver 110 may provide a webpage that provides an interface on the userdevices 102A-N for authoring, sending and/or signing electronicdocuments.

The electronic signature server 110 communicates with the user devices102A-N and the automatic form sending device 104 via network 107.Examples of the network 107 include, but are not limited to, theInternet, a local area network (LAN), a wireless area network, a wiredarea network, a wide area network, and the like.

The electronic signature server 110 includes a signature engine 111. Thesignature engine 111 provides an interface on the user devices 102A-Nfor authoring, sending and/or signing electronic documents. For example,user 101A may use user device 102A to download and use a webpage thatprovides the interface. The user 101A can use such a webpage to uploadan electronic document to the signature engine 111, identify locationson the document to add fields for information, images, and signatures tobe provided by a signer, specify an e-mail address or otheridentification information of the signer, and initiate sending of theelectronic document to the signer. If user 101A identifies user 101B asthe signer, the signature engine 111 sends the document for signature touser 101B, for example by sending an e-mail with a link for the signerto access the electronic document for signature. An electronic documentcan also be provided for signature using a widget that provides a hostedform. For instance, a widget may provide a bank account opening formthat is hosted on the bank's website.

User 101B uses user B device 102B to access the electronic document forsignature. For example, user 101B may use user device 102B to request awebpage that provides a signing interface from the signature engine 111.The signing interface allows user 101B to preview the electronicdocument and add images, signatures, dates, and/or other information topopulate the fields of the electronic document. The user 101B thensubmits the signed electronic document. In the case of widgets, thesigner visits the hosted form with or without logging into the host siteand fills in, signs (cross signs), and submits the form.

During the electronic signature process facilitated by signature engine111, the signature engine 111 enables cross signing. The signatureengine 111 allows fields to be added to electronic documents thatfacilitate cross signing. In one example, the signature engine 111provides a user interface to user device 102A that user 101A uses toauthor and send an electronic document for cross signing. The userinterface includes a tool for the user to provide an electronicdocument. For example, user 101A may provide a scan of an existing formdocument. The electronic document includes content, such as the scannedcontent from the paper version of the document, that is displayed forediting in the user interface. The signature engine 111 also includesediting tools that allow user 101A to add fields to an electronicdocument. These fields include fields that enable cross signing, such asan image field that can be positioned within the electronic document'scontent area, a cross sign field that can be positioned partially overan image field, and/or a combined field that provides both an imagefield and a partially-overlapping cross sign field. User 101A interactswith the user interface to author an electronic document that will besent to the signer. User 101A is able to add the image field at aposition within the content area of the electronic document. User 101Ais also able to position a cross sign field in a position that ispartially over the image field and partially over a portion of thecontent area outside of the image field. In this example, the electronicdocument 113 and added fields 114 are stored on the electronic signatureserver 110 in data storage unit 112. The user 101A sends the electronicdocument 113 and added fields 114 to a signer, such as user 101B. Theevents involved in user 101A authoring and sending the electronicdocument are recorded in records 117.

The signature engine 111 also allows an electronic document to beauthored for cross signing through automated processes. In the exampleof FIG. 1, automated form sending device 104, is configured with acomputer program that executes an automated process to author anelectronic document with fields for cross signing. The automatic formsending device 104, for example, may be a server that responds torequests for the form by authoring a form with appropriate fields andsending the form to the requester for signature. The automatic formsending device 104 provides or invokes one or more API calls to thesignature engine 111, position fields such as an image field and a crosssign field, and send the electronic document with fields to a signer,such as user 101B. The events involved in automatic form sending device104 authoring and sending the electronic document are recorded inrecords 117.

The signature engine 111 also allows a signer to cross sign anelectronic document that is provided to the signer with the appropriatefields for completion. For example, signature engine 111 may provide auser interface to user B device 102B that is used by user 101B. Theinterface may display the electronic documents with the fields andrequest input from user 101B to complete the fields. User 101B crosssigns the document by uploading an image that is used to populate theimage field and a signature that is used to populate the cross signfield. In this way, the signature is provided in a position on theelectronic document content area that is partially on the image andpartially on a portion of the content area outside of the image. User101B may additionally provide other images, information, and signaturesthat are used to populate other fields of the electronic document. Thefield data 115 and images that are provided are stored on the electronicsignature server 110 in the data storage unit. The events involved inuser 101B cross signing and otherwise completing the electronic documentare recorded in records 117. The completed electronic document includesthe electronic document 113, the fields 114, the field data 115, theimages 116, and the records 117. These parts can be used to constructthe completed electronic document for display, print, or other any otherpurpose.

Embodiments of the invention provide techniques, systems, andcomputer-readable mediums with stored instructions that enable crosssigning on an image during an electronic document signing process. Thefunctions involved in these embodiments of the invention generallyinvolve authoring an electronic document with fields for cross signing,receiving an image and a signature for cross signing, and cross signingthe electronic document using the fields, the image, and the signature.In addition, portions of the signature can be embedded in the content ofthe electronic document and/or the image. These functions are generallyimplemented on one or more computing devices that use one or moreprocessors to execute algorithms of one or more operations defined instored instructions. The computing devices that perform these functionscan be located on a user's local computing device, such as on userdevices 102A-N, or on a remote computing device, such as on electronicsignature server 110 of FIG. 1. The operations of various exemplaryalgorithms that can be employed to perform these functions are discussedthroughout this specification.

Existing electronic document signature systems do not facilitate crosssigning over images on electronic documents. FIGS. 2 and 3 illustratesome of the features of existing signature systems that inhibit the useof cross signing. FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a user interface200 in which an image is separately attached to an electronic documentduring an electronic document signing process. The user interface 200displays an electronic document that includes content in content area201. In this example, this content is a scan of a paper document andincludes a graphical depiction of a square with text inside that states“Paste your cross signed recent color photograph. Size 2″×2″.” As incertain existing systems, in the user interface 200, the sender who isauthoring the electronic document for signing is unable to add an imagefield that corresponds to the location and size of the square from thepaper document. Instead, the sender adds a file attachment link 203. Thefile attachment link 203 allows a signer to identify an image that willremain separate from content area of the electronic document. FIG. 3 isa block diagram depicting an image 302 appearing on a separate page fromthe content area 301 of an electronic document after being separatelyattached using the user interface of FIG. 2. Because the image 302 isseparate from the content area 201 of the electronic content there is noway to enable cross signing.

Exemplary Techniques for Cross Signing on an Image

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary technique 400 forauthoring and cross signing an electronic document during an electronicdocument signing process. The exemplary technique 400 can be implementedon local computing devices, such as on user devices 102A-N, or on aremote computing device, such as on electronic signature server 110 ofFIG. 1. However, other devices and configurations can also beimplemented. The exemplary technique 400 can be implemented by storingand executing instructions in a non-transitory computer-readable medium.Reference to the technique 400 being performed by a computing deviceincludes the technique 400 being performed by one or more computingdevices. The technique 400 involves authoring an electronic documentwith fields for cross signing, as shown in block 401. The technique 400further involves receiving an image and a signature, as shown in block402. Additionally, the technique 400 involves cross signing theelectronic document using the fields, the image, and the signature, asshown in block 403. After the cross signing, portions of the signaturecan be embedded in the content of the electronic document and/or theimage. Examples of these features are discussed with respect to FIGS.5-14.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary technique for authoringan electronic document with fields for cross signing during anelectronic document signing process. The exemplary technique 500 can beimplemented on local computing devices, such as on user devices 102A-N,or on a remote computing device, such as on electronic signature server110 of FIG. 1. However, other devices and configurations can also beimplemented. The exemplary technique 500 can be implemented by storingand executing instructions in a non-transitory computer-readable medium.Reference to the technique 500 being performed by a computing deviceincludes the technique 500 being performed by one or more computingdevices.

The technique 500 involves receiving an electronic document to be signedin an electronic document signing process, as shown in block 501. Thedocument is received by the electronic document signature service thatwill facilitate the electronic document signing process. The receiveddocument can be stored locally on the user's device and/or on a remoteserver, such as the electronic signature server 110 of FIG. 1, that isfacilitating the process. In one example, an electronic documentsignature service provides a user interface that allows a sender toidentify a file storage location from which the electronic document isreceived. The user interface displays the electronic document once it isreceived.

Receiving the electronic document, as shown in block 501, can involvedirectly receiving the electronic document from a scanning process. Inone example, the electronic document signature service provides a userinterface that allows a sender to scan a document using a scanningdevice and directly import the scan into the user interface. The userinterface can display the electronic document and store a local copy ofthe electronic document.

Receiving the electronic document, as shown in block 501, canadditionally or alternatively involve receiving the electronic documentfrom an automated process. For example, an automated process may use anapplication programming interface (API) call to identify a location fromwhich the document is to be retrieved for storage and use by anelectronic document signature service in an electronic document signingprocess. As a specific example using the devices of FIG. 1, a processexecuted by automated form sending device 104 can provide an electronicdocument that is received by the electronic signature server 110 andstored in the data storage unit 112.

The technique 500 positions an image field within the content area ofthe electronic document, as shown in block 502. The image field can bepositioned based on user input or automatically based on an API call.For example, a sender may drag and drop the image field into aparticular position and resize the image field to have a particularshape. The image field is positioned within the content area of theelectronic document at the positon where the image will be displayed inthe content area rather than separately from content area. Thus, theimage is positioned within the content area such that the image ispositioned contiguous with portions of the content area. This allowsobjects, such as signatures, to be positioned across borders between theimage and the adjacent portions of the content area. An API call canposition an image field by providing one or more coordinates orparameters that specify the location, size, dimensions, shape, etc. ofthe image field within the content area.

The technique 500 positions a cross sign field partially on the imagefield and partially on a portion of the content area outside of theimage field, as shown in block 503. The cross sign field can bepositioned based on user input. For example, a sender may drag and dropthe cross sign field into a particular position, resize the cross signfield to have a particular shape, rotate the cross sign field to have aparticular rotation, etc. The user interface may restrict thepositioning of the cross sign field. For example, the user interface mayrequire that the cross sign field be positioned at least partially on animage field and at least partially on content outside of an image field.Moreover, the user interface may require that at least predeterminedamount (e.g., 25%) of the cross sign field be over the image field oroutside portion. Similarly, the user interface may require a rotation ofthe cross sign field of at least a predetermined amount (e.g., 10degrees from horizontal). The cross sign field can alternatively beautomatically positioned based on an API call. An API call can positiona cross sign field by providing one or more coordinates or parametersthat specify the location, size, rotation, dimensions, shape, etc. ofthe image field within the content area. In an alternative embodiment,rather than separately positioning an image field and a cross signfield, a single combined field is positioned that provides positions forboth an image field and a signature field.

The technique 500 further involves sending the electronic document forsignature by the signer, as shown in block 504. In one example, thesender specifies a signer e-mail address in an authoring interface or anAPI call. When the sender selects a send command on the user interfaceor provides a API call to initiate sending, the electronic signatureservice sends the electronic document for signature by the signer. Inone example, this involves sending an e-mail with a webpage link to thesigner's e-mail address. The web-link retrieves a webpage for display onthe signer's computing device and the webpage retrieves and displays theelectronic documents and fields for the signer to complete.

FIGS. 6-9 illustrate use of a user interface to author an electronicdocument for cross signing using various exemplary techniques.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram depicting a user interface 600 for authoringan electronic document for cross signing during an electronic documentsigning process. In this example, an electronic document has beenreceived and content of the electronic document is being displayed incontent area 601. In this example, the content is a scan of a paperdocument and includes graphical depiction of a square 602 with textinside that states “Paste your cross signed recent color photograph.Size 2″×2″.” In other examples, an electronic document is createdelectronically, for example, using a word processing application. Theuser interface 600 further includes field tools for adding fields to theelectronic document, including an Inline Image field tool 603, aCrossSign field tool 604, and a CrossSignablelnlinelmage field tool 605.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram depicting the user interface 600 of FIG. 6 inwhich an Inline Image field 702 is positioned within the content area601 of the electronic document. Specifically, a sender clicks on theInline Image field tool 603, and drags along path 701 to position theInline Image field 702 within the content area 601 at a desiredlocation. The sender can then resize the Inline Image field 702 to anappropriate shape and size.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram depicting the user interface of FIG. 7 inwhich a cross sign field 802 is positioned partially over the InlineImage field 702 within the content area 601 of the electronic document.Specifically, the sender clicks on the CrossSign field tool 604, anddrags along path 801 to position the CrossSign field 802 within thecontent area 601 at a desired location partially over the Inline Imagefield 702. The sender then rotated and resized the CrossSign field 802to have a desired shape, size, and rotation.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram depicting the user interface of FIG. 6 inwhich a combined field 902 is positioned within the content area 601 ofthe electronic document. In this example, the sender positions a singlefield, the combined field 902 rather than separate fields for the imageand signature. Specifically, the sender clicks on the CrossSignableInline Image field tool 605, and drags along path 901 to position theCrossSignable Inline Image field 902 within the content area 601 at adesired location. The CrossSignable Inline Image field 902 combines anInline Image field 903 and a CrossSign field 904, but allows the senderto position both of these sub-fields by positioning the combined field902 using a single drag and drop action. The sender then uses menu 905to select a predefined position for the CrossSign field 904 to bepositioned relative to the Inline Image field 903 in the combined field902. The menu 905 allows the sender to select the predefined positionfrom a set of predefined positions relative to the image field: leftbottom, left top, right top, right bottom. These predefined positionsare presented as examples. Additional or alternative predefinedpositions, sizes, and rotations can be used.

Any of the positioning, sizing, rotating, and other selectionsillustrated in FIGS. 6-9 as being based on user input can alternativelybe specified by an automatic process that uses one or more API calls.The parameters of the API calls can specify the positions, sizes,rotations, selections, etc. without requiring a user interface and/oruser input.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary technique 1000 forcross signing an electronic document based on an image and signaturereceived from a signer during an electronic document signing process.The exemplary technique 1000 can be implemented on local computingdevices, such as on user devices 102A-N, or on a remote computingdevice, such as on electronic signature server 110 of FIG. 1. However,other devices and configurations can also be implemented. The exemplarytechnique 1000 can be implemented by storing and executing instructionsin a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Reference to the technique1000 being performed by a computing device includes the technique 1000being performed by one or more computing devices.

The technique 1000 involves receiving an electronic document as shown inblock 1001. The electronic document has content within a content area,an image field positioned on the content area, and a cross sign fieldpositioned partially on the image field and partially on a portion ofthe content area outside of the image field. In one example, theelectronic document is received by a signature service from a sender ina document signing process in which the sender is using the signatureservice to send electronic document to be signed by a signer. In thisexample, the signature service initially stores the electronic documentas a file that includes separate elements for the content area, e.g., animage of the content area, and/or one or more fields (e.g., image field,cross sign field, text field, etc.). The fields are configured toreceive and be populated by certain types of content. An image field ispopulated with an image, a text field is populated with text, etc.

Technique 1000 involves receiving an image to populate the image fieldand a signature to populate the cross sign field, as shown in block1002. In one example, the image and signature are received by theelectronic document signature service that will facilitate theelectronic document signing process based on input received from thesigner of the electronic document. The unaltered image and completesignature are temporarily stored locally on the user's device and/or ona remote server, such as the electronic signature server 110 of FIG. 1,that is facilitating the signature process. In one example, anelectronic document signature service provides a user interface thatallows a signer to identify a file storage location from which the imageis received. Receiving the image can involve directly receiving theimage from a scanning process. In one example, the electronic documentsignature service provides a user interface that allows a user tocapture a new photograph or scan an existing photograph, proof, or otheritem using a scanning device and directly import the image into the userinterface. The user interface can display the image.

A variety of techniques can be used to receive a signature. In oneexample, a signature is automatically generated based on the letters inthe signer's name or any other appropriate text and the signer confirmsthe signature. The signer may alternatively select from a set ofsignatures that show the signer's name or other text in a variety offonts, including fonts that mimic handwriting. A signature can bereceived based on a movement of a finger or stylus on a touch screen,using a specialized signature device, or using other equipment thatreceives input from the signer to identify a shape of the signer'ssignature. A signature can be stored in a file that a signer uses tosign electronic documents. For example, a signer can provide thesignature by identifying the file storage location at which the storedsignature can be found. A signature can be created from a signed paperdocument or by doing an image capture of a signature. For example, thecontent of a portion of scanned paper document can be analyzed todifferentiate the signature stroke from the background of the documentand the stroke portion stored as the signature. In another example, afingerprint is used as signature. In another example, a Hanko stamp isused as a signature.

Technique 1000 further involves creating a first signature portion and asecond portion by splitting the signature, as shown in block 1003. Thiscan involve splitting the signature by determining a first signatureportion and a second signature portion based on an intersection of aborder of the image with the signature. The first signature portion thatis on the inside of the image border is selected to be included in theimage. The second signature portion that is on the outside of the imageborder is selected to be included in the content of the electronicdocument.

Technique 1000 further involves creating a modified image by modifyingthe image to include the first signature portion, as shown in block1004. In one example, creating the modified image involves replacingpixel values to replace image content with the first signature portion.For example, this can involve identifying coordinates (e.g., x/ycoordinates) of the stroke (e.g., where the “ink” is as opposed to thebackground) of the first signature portion, identifying a location wherethe first signature portion will appear on the image based on therelative positions of the cross sign field and image field to oneanother, and then determining locations of pixels of the image toreplace with pixels of the stroke of the signature based on the strokecoordinates and location of the first signature portion. In thisexample, the stroke of the first signature portion is integrated on thebackground of the image. The stroke forming the letters of the signatureappear on the background of the image. For example, the stroke formingthe letters of the signature may appear over a sky displayed in theimage and/or over the face of a person displayed in the image. Thereplaced pixels of the image prior to the modification (i.e., of theunaltered image) can be discarded so that the unaltered image is nolonger available. Only the modified image that includes the firstsignature portion is retained for storage.

The technique 1000 further involves creating a modified content area bymodifying the content area of the electronic document to include thesecond signature portion, as shown in block 1005. In one example,creating the modified content area involves replacing pixel values, textobjects, links, and/or other content of the content area with pixels ofthe second signature portion. For example, this can involve identifyingcoordinates (e.g., x/y coordinates) of the stroke (e.g., where the “ink”is as opposed to the background) of the second signature portion,identifying a location where the second signature portion will appear onthe content area based on the positioning of the cross sign fieldrelative to the content area, and then determining locations of contentof the content area to replace with pixels of the stroke of thesignature based on the stroke coordinates and location of the secondsignature portion. In this example, the stroke of the second signatureportion is integrated on the content area. The stroke forming theletters of the signature appear surrounded by content of the contentarea. For example, the stroke forming the letters of the signature mayappear over a blue-colored background of the content area. The replacedcontent of the content area (i.e., of the unaltered content area) can bediscarded so that the unaltered content area is no longer available.Only the modified content area that includes the second signatureportion is retained for storage.

These modifications to the image and/or content area make it difficultto separate the signature from the modified image and modified contentarea. The modifications and/or discarding of the unaltered image,unaltered content area, and/or complete image may protect againsttampering, fraud, and accidental alteration, for example, making it moredifficult to extract and use the complete signature, the unalteredimage, and/or the unaltered content area of the original electronicdocument.

The technique 1000 stores the electronic document by storing a file ofseparate elements, as shown in block 1006. The separate elements includethe modified content area, the modified image, and searchable textelements of the electronic document. By separating these elements in thestored electronic document the electronic document can be searched forparticular text values. For example, a text element of the electronicdocument may include the signer's social security number. A collectionof electronic documents can be searched to identify all documents thatinclude that particular search elements and the search resultsidentified more quickly and efficiently based on the electronicdocuments storing separately elements that include searchable textelements. For example, the search can be conducted more quickly,efficiently, and accurately than if the electronic document had beenflattened into a single image document. In addition, because theelectronic document stored the modified image and modified contentrather than the unaltered image, unaltered content area, and completesignature, these elements are not exposed to being extracted and usedfor improper purposes. In one example, since the complete signature isnot stored (and is discarded), it is very difficult if not impossiblefor a user to recreate the complete signature from the stored elementsof the electronic document. Similarly, in another example, since theimage is modified (and the unmodified image is discarded), it is verydifficult, if not impossible, for a user to recreate the unaltered imagefrom the stored elements of the electronic document.

While the example of FIG. 10 illustrates splitting a signature into twoportions, a signature can be split into any number of portions. Forexample, a signature field may be positioned so that the signaturestarts on the document crosses over the image and continues on anotherside of the image. In this example, the signature can be broken intothree portions: a first portion of the signature on one side of theimage, a second portion of the signature that is on the image, and athird portion that is on the other side of the image. The content areaof the electronic document can be modified to include the first andthird portions of the signature and the image can be modified to includethe second portion of the signature. In another example, two images areinserted into an electronic document and a signature overlaps thecontent area of the electronic document and each of the two images. Thesignature in this example can be split into three portions: one portionfor the content area of the electronic document, a second portion forthe first image, and a third portion for the second image. The contentarea, first image, and second image are then modified with therespective portion of signature. Numerous other examples involving anycombination of the content area, one or more images, and one or moreimages are possible.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram depicting a user interface 1100 for providingan image and signature to cross sign an electronic document during anelectronic document signing process. In this example, the user interfaceincludes an electronic document with a content area 601 to which animage field 702 and a cross sign field 802 have been added. The userinterface 1100 also include image tools 1101-1104 to assist the signerwith adding an image to the image field 702. Image tools 1101-1104 areprovided during the signature process when the signer is providing theimage to populate the image field 702. Camera tool 1101 allows thesigner to use a camera on the user's device to capture an image thatwill be used for the image field 1102. File tool 1102 allows the signerto identify a storage location on the local device or a remote devicefrom which the image is to be retrieved. Editing tool 1103 allows thesigner to perform editing functions on an identified image. For example,the signer may zoom, translate, or crop the image or apply a contrastchange, filter, red-eye reduction, etc. Exit tool 1104 allows the signerto exit from providing the image, for example, to populate another fieldor discontinue the signing process. These exemplary image editing toolsare provided as examples. Numerous additional or alternative imageadding tool can be used.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram depicting the user interface of FIG. 11 inwhich an image 1201 is received and displayed in the content area 601 ofthe electronic document. The image is displayed contiguous with portionsof the content area rather than being on a separate page.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram depicting the user interface of FIG. 12 inwhich a signature 1301 is received and displayed partially over theimage 1201 and partially over a portion of the content area 601 of theelectronic document outside of the image 1201. In this way, the signerhas cross signed the electronic document and is able to view his or hersignature positioned partially on the image 1201 and partially on aportion of the content area 601 outside of the image 1201.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram depicting the modification of an image andcontent area of an electronic document based on cross signing. In thisexample, a user interface 1400 displays the cross signed electronicdocument 1401. The signature of the cross sign, however, has been splitand used to modify different electronic document parts. In this example,a portion 1404 of the content area of the electronic document has beenmodified to include a portion 1405 of the signature. Similarly, theimage 1402 has been modified to include the remaining portion 1403 ofthe signature. The pixels of the image 1402 are modified to include thisportion 1403 of the signature on the image. As a result, the originalimage is difficult to extract. Similarly, since the content area of theelectronic document is similarly modified, the unaltered content area isdifficult to extract. Finally, since the different portions of thesignature are embedded in the content area and image, it is difficult toextract and reconstruct the signature. Making it difficult to extractthe original content area, original image, and original signatureprotects against tampering, fraud, and accidental alterations.

Additional or alternative techniques can be used to provide assurancethat a cross signed document has not been accidentally or intentionallyaltered. In one example, metadata is stored with each portion of asignature that allows the portions to be matched with one another. Inanother example, the signature and/or the image and content area portionthat it overlies can be hashed to compute a value that is stored forlater verification purposes. The value can be later used to verify thatthe cross sign has not been altered for example by recreating a new hashvalue and comparing it with the original, stored value.

Exemplary Computing Environment

Any suitable computing system or group of computing systems can be usedto implement the techniques and methods disclosed herein. For example,FIG. 15 is a block diagram depicting examples of implementations of suchcomponents. The computing device 1500 can include a processor 1501 thatis communicatively coupled to a memory 1502 and that executescomputer-executable program code and/or accesses information stored inmemory 1502 or storage 1503. The processor 1501 may comprise amicroprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), astate machine, or other processing device. The processor 1501 caninclude one processing device or more than one processing device. Such aprocessor can include or may be in communication with acomputer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by theprocessor 1501, cause the processor to perform the operations describedherein.

The memory 1502 and storage 1503 can include any suitable non-transitorycomputer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium can include anyelectronic, optical, magnetic, or other storage device capable ofproviding a processor with computer-readable instructions or otherprogram code. Non-limiting examples of a computer-readable mediuminclude a magnetic disk, memory chip, ROM, RAM, an ASIC, a configuredprocessor, optical storage, magnetic tape or other magnetic storage, orany other medium from which a computer processor can read instructions.The instructions may include processor-specific instructions generatedby a compiler and/or an interpreter from code written in any suitablecomputer-programming language, including, for example, C, C++, C#,Visual Basic, Java, Python, Perl, JavaScript, and ActionScript.

The computing device 1500 may also comprise a number of external orinternal devices such as input or output devices. For example, thecomputing device is shown with an input/output (“I/O”) interface 1504that can receive input from input devices or provide output to outputdevices. A communication interface 1505 may also be included in thecomputing device 1500 and can include any device or group of devicessuitable for establishing a wired or wireless data connection to one ormore data networks. Non-limiting examples of the communication interface1505 include an Ethernet network adapter, a modem, and/or the like. Thecomputing device 1500 can transmit messages as electronic or opticalsignals via the communication interface 1505. A bus 1506 can also beincluded to communicatively couple one or more components of thecomputing device 1500.

The computing device 1500 can execute program code that configures theprocessor 1501 to perform one or more of the operations described above.The program code can include one or more modules. The program code maybe resident in the memory 1502, storage 1503, or any suitablecomputer-readable medium and may be executed by the processor 1501 orany other suitable processor. In some embodiments, modules can beresident in the memory 1502. In additional or alternative embodiments,one or more modules can be resident in a memory that is accessible via adata network, such as a memory accessible to a cloud service.

Numerous specific details are set forth herein to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the claimed subject matter. However, those skilled inthe art will understand that the claimed subject matter may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, methods,apparatuses, or systems that would be known by one of ordinary skillhave not been described in detail so as not to obscure the claimedsubject matter.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it is appreciated that throughoutthis specification discussions utilizing terms such as “processing,”“computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” and “identifying” or the likerefer to actions or processes of a computing device, such as one or morecomputers or a similar electronic computing device or devices, thatmanipulate or transform data represented as physical electronic ormagnetic quantities within memories, registers, or other informationstorage devices, transmission devices, or display devices of thecomputing platform.

The system or systems discussed herein are not limited to any particularhardware architecture or configuration. A computing device can includeany suitable arrangement of components that provides a resultconditioned on one or more inputs. Suitable computing devices includemultipurpose microprocessor-based computer systems accessing storedsoftware that programs or configures the computing system from a generalpurpose computing apparatus to a specialized computing apparatusimplementing one or more embodiments of the present subject matter. Anysuitable programming, scripting, or other type of language orcombinations of languages may be used to implement the teachingscontained herein in software to be used in programming or configuring acomputing device.

Embodiments of the methods disclosed herein may be performed in theoperation of such computing devices. The order of the blocks presentedin the examples above can be varied—for example, blocks can bere-ordered, combined, and/or broken into sub-blocks. Certain blocks orprocesses can be performed in parallel.

The use of “adapted to” or “configured to” herein is meant as open andinclusive language that does not foreclose devices adapted to orconfigured to perform additional tasks or steps. Additionally, the useof “based on” is meant to be open and inclusive, in that a process,step, calculation, or other action “based on” one or more recitedconditions or values may, in practice, be based on additional conditionsor values beyond those recited. Headings, lists, and numbering includedherein are for ease of explanation only and are not meant to belimiting.

While the present subject matter has been described in detail withrespect to specific embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated thatthose skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of theforegoing, may readily produce alterations to, variations of, andequivalents to such embodiments. Accordingly, it should be understoodthat the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of examplerather than limitation, and does not preclude inclusion of suchmodifications, variations, and/or additions to the present subjectmatter as would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, performed by a computing device, forstoring an electronic document signed during an electronic documentsigning process, the method comprising: receiving an electronic documentto be signed in the electronic document signing process, the electronicdocument comprising content within a content area, an image fieldpositioned on the content area, and a cross sign field positionedpartially on the image field and partially on a portion of the contentarea outside of the image field; receiving an image to populate theimage field and a signature to populate the cross sign field; creating afirst signature portion and a second signature portion by splitting thesignature; creating a modified image by modifying the image to includethe first signature portion; creating a modified content area bymodifying the content area of the electronic document to include thesecond signature portion; and storing the electronic document by storinga file comprising separate elements, the separate elements comprisingthe modified content area, the modified image, and searchable textelements of the electronic document.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe signature is not separately stored in the file.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein creating the modified image comprises replacing pixelvalues to replace image content with the first signature portion.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein splitting the signature comprises determiningtwo or more signature portions based on intersection of a border of theimage with the signature, wherein the two or more signature portionsinclude the first signature portion and the second signature portion. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the electronic documentcomprises receiving a combined field in the content area, the combinedfield identifying positions for the image field and the cross signfield.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein receiving the combined fieldcomprises receiving a selection of a predefined position or rotation forthe cross sign field to be positioned relative to the image field in thecombined field, wherein the predefined position is selected from a setof predefined positions relative to the image field.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein receiving the electronic document comprises: displayingthe content area of the electronic document in a user interface; andreceiving input identifying a position in the content area in the userinterface for the image field.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinreceiving the electronic document comprises: displaying the image fieldon the content area in a user interface; receiving input identifying aposition on the content area in the user interface for the cross signfield; and receiving input rotating, scaling, or resizing the cross signfield in the user interface.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein receivingthe electronic document comprises receiving application programminginterface calls to position the image field or position the cross signfield.
 10. A system for cross signing on an image during an electronicdocument signing process, the system comprising: an authoring means forauthoring an electronic document with fields for cross signing, theelectronic document to be signed by a signer in the electronic documentsigning process; a receiving means for receiving an image and asignature; and a storing means for storing the electronic document bymodifying the electronic document and the image based on the signature.11. The system of claim 10, wherein the storing means is configured to:create a first signature portion and a second signature portion bysplitting the signature; create a modified image by modifying the imageto include the first signature portion; create a modified content areaby modifying content area of the electronic document to include thesecond signature portion; and store the electronic document by storing afile comprising separate elements, the separate elements comprising themodified content area and the modified image.
 12. The system of claim11, wherein the storing means is further configured to split thesignature into the first signature portion and the second signatureportion based on an intersection of a border of the image with thesignature.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the authoring means isconfigured to position an image field and a cross sign field within acontent area of the electronic document, wherein the cross sign field ispositioned partially on the image field and partially on a portion ofthe content area outside of the image field.
 14. The system of claim 13,wherein the authoring means is configured to position a combined fieldthat comprises the image field and the cross sign field.
 15. The systemof claim 14, wherein the authoring means is configured to position thecross sign field in a predefined position relative to the image field inthe combined field.
 16. The system of claim 13, wherein the authoringmeans is configured to independently position the image field and thecross sign field.
 17. The system of claim 10, wherein the authoring meanis configured to position the fields based on application programminginterface calls.
 18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storinginstructions, the instructions comprising instructions for: receiving anelectronic document to be signed in the electronic document signingprocess, the electronic document comprising content within a contentarea; receiving a signature and an image for inclusion in the electronicdocument; creating a first signature portion and a second signatureportion by splitting the signature; creating a modified image bymodifying the image to include the first signature portion; creating amodified content area by modifying the content area of the electronicdocument to include the second signature portion; and storing theelectronic document by storing a file comprising separate elements, theseparate elements comprising the modified content area and the modifiedimage.
 19. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein theseparate elements further comprise searchable text and wherein thesignature is not separately stored in the file.
 20. The computerreadable medium of claim 18, wherein creating the modified imagecomprises replacing pixel values to replace image content with the firstsignature portion.